This cabinet card was made by Louis Walzl's Broadway
Studio. Kelbaugh's directory lists this address only for the year 1884.
The photograph has been partly re-touched. There is a metallic gold paint
applied to the earrings, bracelets and necklace of the girl on the left,
to the brooch of the woman and to the earrings and ring on the right fifth
finger of the girl on the right. I would guess that this might be a confirmation
photograph for the young girl on the left side of the photo. She is holding
a small book perhaps a Bible or catechism.
The back side of this photo contains the photographer's logo which reads, "The Broadway Photographic Art Studio, No. 157 South Broadway, Directly opposite Kann's Popular and Extensive Dry Goods House, Baltimore, Louis Walzl."
There have been several hand-written additions.
First, the subjects have been identified as Grandmother Brown, Susie and
Katie Brown. The remainder of the writing looks like notes for a special
order. It says, "Bust of lady, Blue eyes, Dark Brown hair." The red ink
number, "763891" is probably the order number. I would suspect that a hand
painted portrait of the bust of the woman in the photo was special ordered.
Hand coloring was often applied to nineteenth-century photos as an enhancement.